Welcome to the Astrobites Transgender in Astronomy series! To celebrate Pride Month this year, Astrobites will be publishing an interview with one transgender astronomer every week highlighting their experiences both in the field of astronomy and as a transgender person in today’s society. This week’s interviewee is Wichahpi King, a fourth-year PhD student at the University of Texas – Austin (UT Austin)! Wichahpi uses they/them pronouns.
Becoming an Observer
Wichahpi’s love for the stars first started out as hatred. As a child, they thought the only thing astronomers did was study constellations: something they found incredibly boring. However, this changed when an astronomy teacher from the Banner Creek Observatory in Holton, Kansas began substituting at their high school. Wichahpi started volunteering at the observatory, helping with outreach and operating the telescope. In their culture, ancestors return to the stars after they pass. Looking at the night sky made them feel connected to their grandmother, who had lost her battle to lung cancer. Wichahpi said that, “This connection kept me alive in very scary times.”
Eventually, they realized space was full of so much more than constellations, leading them to buy their own telescope and pursue a degree in astronomy and physics. They started research immediately as an undergraduate at the University of Kansas (KU), thanks to a program where low-income students could get paid for doing research. Growing up in a different culture, Wichahpi was allowed to dress and act how they wanted. They knew from a young age that they wanted to change their name, and that they weren’t a girl. It wasn’t until undergrad though that Wichahpi were able to explore their identity further. In addition to this, they were also juggling a full time job and a full course load. It was difficult to balance all of these things, but they were able to lean on their chosen family and department for support. Speaking about the support they received from their undergraduate advisor, Wichaphi said that “My advisor made a world of difference because he was a true ally. He educated himself, provided resources, had my back while trusting my lead on issues related to discrimination. He was also one of the first people to use my name and pronouns without hesitation.” After completing their B.S. in Astronomy and B.S. in Physics, they went on to attend UT-Austin for graduate school.
Wichahpi now works with Dr. Karl Gebhardt and the HETDEX collaboration. HETDEX primarily uses the Hobby-Eberly telescope at McDonald Observatory to measure the positions of galaxies and create a 3-D map of the expansion of the Universe. With this map, they hope to uncover the nature of dark energy. Because of this mapping process, HETDEX holds a large myriad of galaxy data, including 10s of thousands of active galactic nuclei (AGN) spectra. By determining the mass of the supermassive black holes at the center of these AGN and their host galaxy’s stellar masses, Wichahpi is able to watch how the most powerful objects in our universe change. “I get to look at thousands of AGN and use their light to measure the masses of their black holes through cosmic time. It’s incredible.”
At A Crossroads
Wichahpi is not only trans, but also a member of the Oglala Lakota and Kickapoo tribes. Their intersecting identities have given them a unique perspective when it comes to navigating the current climate. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. This isn’t how it has to be. It can be different and it is different in other cultures. […] I think that {my cultural identity} helps me to take a step back and be able to breathe through it all. It’s incredibly frustrating because you know that in your culture, this isn’t how it is and this isn’t how it’s supposed to be.” They talked about how their indigenous and trans identities were linked, leading to an even stronger impact on their resiliency. “There’s a lot of stuff right now that’s specifically attacking trans identities. With my trans identity, I am also indigenous, so it’s also attacking my culture very directly. It’s not only transphobic and homophobic, it’s also racist. […] You know very deeply that it’s {transphobia} a result of colonization. And that, as an indigenous person, just every aspect of that hurts.”
Their trans identity not only influences their indigenous culture but also their work. “Being trans in astronomy is really hard. Nobody will respect pronouns, nobody asks for pronouns. When you do give pronouns, they won’t correct themselves. Your advisors tend not to correct them either, which is really frustrating because your advisor is supposed to be the one who looks out for you and has your back on things. So, advisors really should and need to do that.” In a town hall meeting about DEI, Wichahpi brought up the fact that there are only two non-gendered restrooms in the 17-story building they work in. They talked about how difficult it was to use the restroom during the work day, given the two restrooms are frequently occupied and several floors away from their office. Instead of considering their accommodation request, it was met with comments like ‘there’s already one {a non-gendered bathroom}’. “I don’t feel safe at work to use a {gendered} bathroom, given I don’t look like or identify as a man or a woman. […] I don’t know what would happen if I did {use a gendered restroom}.”
Light in the Darkness
While there has been great hardship, there has also been great joy. As they’ve progressed in graduate school, Wichahpi has been able to find a great community of physicists and astronomers who understand and embrace all parts of who they are. “I have an incredible community through SIP (Society of Indigenous Physicists). We all bring in our different indigenous ways of understanding and doing things and it’s incredibly supportive. There’s no stereotypes, no expectations. […] Gender is not a strict binary and it never has been in many native cultures. In a lot of our cultures, we hold trans people in a higher regard than non-trans people.” According to the 2020 Astronomy Decadal Survey, only 0.25% of PhD astronomers in the U.S. are indigenous. They discussed the caring culture in SIP and how when one of the only remaining indigenous astronomers in the U.S. passed away, the organization paid for a trip for the family and provided free meals in their time of grief.
Outside of astronomy, Wichahpi enjoys going on walks and hikes with their dog and partner. Their apartment complex has a neighborhood pool, so to beat the Texas heat, they’ve loved swimming a lot more. They’re also interested in reading, particularly about psychology and how these subjects affect human behavior. After graduating with their PhD, they hope to work as a postdoctoral researcher and eventually as a teaching faculty. They want to give back to the community through education research and plan to pursue this as a professor. “I think while it’s important to stay strong and resilient, you also have to trust yourself and be very soft with yourself as well. I think that’s the only way to make it through and be in this field. You have to have a balance.”
Advice for young transgender and queer astronomers:
“The reason why people go so hard on laws and regulations is because they’re losing power and they know it. Having a community, being able to balance that hard and soft side of yourself, trusting yourself and knowing these are desperate cries to remain in power and they won’t last. As an older trans person, be safe, but also be as open and out as you can. Show the younger generation that you’re alive and you’re still thriving. Have safety plans and people you can trust with those safety plans.”
Edited by Sahil Hegde and Drew Lapeer
Featured photo credit: Wichahpi King
Great read! Loved the details about how Wichahpi‘s culture shapes their approach to science.